


The Little Things

by SassyFlamingo2



Series: Amor Non Exurat Flamma [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anniversary, Blind Ignis Scientia, Children, Chocobros Week, Dorks in Love, Eventual Romance, F/M, FFXV OC Week, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Mush, Friendship/Love, Gladio gives romance advise, Glasses, Humor, I'm Bad At Summaries, Ignis Fluff Week, Implied Sexual Content, Long-Term Relationship(s), Love Confessions, Married Couple, Memories, Mentioned Noctis Lucis Caelum, Mild Sexual Content, Mornings, Near Death Experiences, Older Chocobros (Final Fantasy XV), Older Ignis Scientia, One Shot, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, POV Ignis Scientia, Post-Reflections, Protective Ignis Scientia, Romance, Scars, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Unrequited Love, Young Chocobros (Final Fantasy XV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24689773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyFlamingo2/pseuds/SassyFlamingo2
Summary: Today's the day that only comes once a year, Ignis and Vassa's anniversary, and our favorite fallen king's adviser reflects on the memories of his and Vassa's long relationship in the early morning light with a cup of Ebony in hand.*Note*A rather long fic, but everything is explained within as it is a one-shot.
Relationships: Ignis Scientia & Original Character(s), Ignis Scientia & Original Female Character(s), Ignis Scientia/Original Character(s), Ignis Scientia/Original Female Character(s), Ignis Scientia/Vassa Caelum Scientia, blind ignis scientia/original female characters
Series: Amor Non Exurat Flamma [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1829086
Kudos: 5





	The Little Things

"Iggy! Have you seen my glasses?"

Ignis chuckled, a low sound that vibrated from his chest just as rich as the mugful of steaming ebony in his hand. "Check the side table, love." He called up to the floor above.

His fingers paused in their current activity of sliding over the markings of his daily calendar, lingering particularly over today's date before leaving completely. He tilted his head to the side, intently listening to the sound of her light steps as she walked across the floor. He could clearly see her image in his mind's eye. Her face cutely scrunched up in intense concentration and glossy raven strands a total mess from sleep, those magnetic grey-blue eyes narrowed into tiny slits as she tried and failed to focus on the contents of the room. Even though her steps were light, he could tell how tiny they were due to her shuffled movements camouflaged by pink Chocobo slippers with heads that bobbed around with every step while she tried to avoid falling over anything that might happen to be in her way. A small grin teased the corner of his lips as he heard her murmur in surprise as she found her glasses laying exactly where he predicted they would be.

Although extremely needed to see anything past six inches from her nose, Vassa's peculiar habit of frequently misplacing said frames was something that had amused him to no end for years, and also at times provided quite the source of frustration for him as well. When they were younger, there had been more than one occasion that their entire party had been forced to turn around and return to the last place they had stayed in order to find Vassa's glasses. 

That was only one of the many little things he adored about her. 

The illegitimate daughter of a cousin of noble King Regis who had been dumped onto whoever would care for her, the king himself had taken up with the child and invited her to live in the citadel alongside his young highness Prince Noctis as she was similar in age herself. A scrawny girl with grey-blue eyes and scruffy dark hair tied in a lavender ribbon, she was like a slightly smaller shadow of Noctis and just as quiet as a phantom. In fact, he hadn't even been entirely confident that the girl contained a voice until he heard her speak softly to a small lavender stuffed Chocobo one day in the gardens. 

For the next few years, wherever Noctis went, Vassa went. The prince and his shadow, he had found it slightly amusing how well they fit together, and at times she did even make his job a little easier by trying to persuade his highness into doing whatever Ignis needed of him at the moment, usually being his latest attempt to disguise the prince's vegetables into an edible subject. She wasn't always successful, but her soft-spoken words and gentle mannerisms were occasionally accepted as Noctis conceded to eat at least three bites of the vegetable before revolting completely. 

As they all grew older, he noticed a subtle change in Vassa. She drifted away into her own mind, seemingly searching for some inner purpose to work towards rather than just coast through life as most of the nobles did. He had harbored the intention of speaking with Vassa, but as he grew older as well, so did the burdens placed on his shoulders as the adviser to the future king of Insomnia and regretfully he never took the chance to speak with her about her dreams. However, he had a silent helping hand in King Regis as Vassa was tasked with becoming his assistant.

He cursed himself for taking her for granted. He cursed himself for spending too many years blind to the way she was always there. Silent, grey eyes watchful and never missing the smallest detail of what he needed at the time when he did not even know it himself. There would always be a fresh Ebony waiting on his desk every morning and an extra cup waiting after a particularly stressful meeting. His desk was always stocked with fresh pens and his paperwork and reports neatly sorted and ready for his review. They had even spent so many nights sitting up and working together, dealing with the issues that Noctis had refused to. When he had to depart to care for Noctis, she made sure that his office ran as smooth as possible in his frequent absence. He cursed himself for frequently forgetting to tell her that he appreciated her and her hard work. Bloody Astrals, she had even remembered his birthday when even he couldn't if it hadn't been for the efforts of his friends. The gifts, the pairs of fine leather gloves, an enchanted set of spell daggers, a subscription service to the Ebony of the month club. Each one of her gifts were well thought out about his person and couldn't have been more appropriate if she had tried any harder. He cursed himself for never telling her more than a polite thank you.

He cursed himself for being so blind to just how much she truly cared for him even then.

When Insomnia fell, she was one of the few who escaped along with Iris to the bustling town of Lestallum. Bruised and battered from a skirmish with the enemy's soldiers but none the worse for the wear, she greeted her beloved cousin with a hug and her whispered condolences for his loss. He couldn't deny the strange bloom of relief in his chest at knowing she escaped the fallen city unharmed, that she was here and safe for the current time. He cursed himself for not accepting the hug that Vassa had so shyly offered, but only shaking her delicate hand instead. He was sure it was not his imagination that had proved the slight sheen of hurt that had flashed across her features before vanishing into the quiet smile that she so often granted. 

When she joined their group from that point onward, he was surprised to find that not only was Vassa quite skilled in battle, but she was particularly devastating with the small knives she kept on her person for throwing and the thin extendable sword she kept hidden in her right boot for combat. That, coupled with her flexible body that nearly rivaled his own, was a lethal combo to both Damon and MT alike. Grown from the prince's shadow to a lethal phantom in her own right, he began to see a different side to the quiet girl he had known for so long, and it puzzled him. He found himself becoming strangely irritated when she chose to spend time with the others, how she would toss back her fluffy dark tresses over her shoulder and softly laugh at Gladio's positively ridiculous pick up lines, her delight at being the subject of Prompto's endless bouts of photography that had her body posing in the most awkward of ways, and of course the frequent victim of his highness's marathon gaming of King's Knight where he firmly declared his cousin as his partner because she was the proclaimed title 'Kickass queen of King's Knight'. But as everything so often was, he forced his own personal feelings down in favor of performing his duties.

His own personal reprieve came in the form of the rare moments that he was allowed a few spare moments where it was only himself and Vassa together, the nights they spent camping were his particular favorites as he witnessed the rare opportunity to spend the early morning sunrises alone with her. As he would be readying the supplies for breakfast, he was more than once surprised by her silent presence sitting a short distance away, completely silent as she watched the majestic sun rise to chase away the dark depths of the night. Occasionally he would make a small conversation with her, frequently asking her opinion about his newest recipes. But more often than not, the morning were spent in complete silence, completely comfortable in each other's presence. Some mornings she would even rise before he woke up, a remarkable feat only sometimes achieved by Gladio when the shield was extremely anxious to train. A bubbling pot of liquid Ebony brewing over the stove and just waiting for him alone as she waited patiently for her favorite morning companion. 

He cursed himself for not realizing that this encounter was one of the few ways that she was taking refuge in his presence just as he did in hers.

The final blow that broke his carefully crafted stoic walls came one day when as their group had undertaken a hunt to exterminate a troublesome gathering of Shieldshears that had taken over a nearby lake and thus preventing the nearby citizens from gathering water from said lake. It wasn't a terribly inconvenient job, and it did offer the chance to raise a moderate amount of Gil needed to replenish their supplies. As expected, the giant beasts were quickly dispatched with the expected efficiency, not including Prompto's unlikely soaking from being knocked into the lake from a stray blow before the battle was complete. Noctis and Gladio had both bowled over in laughter as the soaked blonde paddled to the shore, highly resembling a waterlogged chocobo more than ever with his current state, and he had almost been ready to wade into the sparkling lake water himself to fetch the poor boy before he drowned completely when a flash of dark hair darted from the corner of his vision. 

Vassa had taken it upon herself to fetch Prompto, wading out to where the water was level with her chest and lending a hand to the sodden boy as she helped pull him from the water's grasp, emerging fully to stand once more on the lake's banks. His heart thudded and stammered in his chest like a trapped fledgling bird, too scared to fly true but shocked to his core by the sight of the pearlescent drops of liquid clinging to the tips of the long raven strands pinned up at the back of her head like miniature jewels. The water had made her silken top fit snug against her body, highlighting the curves that normally stayed hidden under the heavy shield of her jacket. Her dark framed glasses had slid down to the tip of her nose, poised to hang where they might fall off at any given moment while She smiled with laughter in her smoky eyes and a tease on her lips, returning fire with a well aimed quip to her giggling cousin to advance poor Prompto's distress. 

He remembered that was the very moment that he realized she was no longer the wide eyed girl, but a beautiful grown woman just as he was no longer a nervously fretting boy but a grown man.

His body, honed for his life's work from as far back as he could remember, began to betray him in Vassa's presence. His eyes, peering through his glasses in order to see the world crystal clear, would idly follow her form wherever she walked. His lips that were normally so skilled in the art of conversation would falter and stumble like a drunkard in her presence. When her fingers would brush alongside his while in the midst of a meal's preparations, he would blush and tremble like a schoolboy, but the worst enemy of all by far was his mind. 

His thoughts and dreams tortured him with the memory of how the water had clung to her form, highlighting every womanly curve in a way that appeared she had been carved by the Astrals themselves. He found himself awakening at night, consumed with a lust for her that had his most primal instincts singing with the urge to just reach for her as she slumbered just a short distance away, completely within reach of his touch but he denied himself of these feelings. Instead he chose to sneak away and exhausted himself beyond in the privacy at night. By day, he would find himself wondering how she looked beneath the shield of her chosen attire. If her skin was as soft as a cloud or if she was firm with muscle carved from the years of training that was so evident in the way she skillfully wielded her body and weapons. It was all too easy for him to envision his hands first sliding beneath the fabric of her black leather jacket, then the pale colored silk of her undershirt, followed by her sturdy black pants as the last of all to drop from her graceful form while he rained kiss after kiss to every inch of flesh exposed to his attention, but he could not. He would blink away the fantasy each and every time it appeared, silently telling himself that he had no reason to be selfish with Vassa like that. She was Noct's cousin and surely destined for a high born marriage just as he would be once the world shifted back into it's rightful status when the war was won. Vassa was a loyal friend and could not belong to him no matter how much he wished for the alternative. 

He never forgot how bitter those lies tasted in his mouth even after he repeated them to himself time and time again for years. 

Even at Altissa, he could not bring himself to say the few words that would have made her world complete. Instead, he ignored the pounding of his heart threatening to burst from his chest and merely instructed her of the plan. The rough bark of instructions his final words cut off before he found himself thrown into a watery world on his way to rescue his king.

When he had done what he must to save his king only to awake in darkness and blistering pain searing his scorched skin, he had immediately reached up to his eyes only to be stopped by gentle hands restraining his wrists and a soft voice whispering reassurances in his ears. Vassa herself was even then at his side, explaining that he couldn't remove the bandages for sake of damaging the wounds to his eyes further. It had taken a few moments for the consequences of his actions to return, but return they did. His bones were sore and ached severely, his wounds still burning like the Lucien Fire he had so skillfully wielded was still roaring in his veins, and he felt filthy from the grime and ash still clinging to his skin. Regardless of his battered physical state, his first question was about the state of his charge. He remembered all too clearly the abject feeling of failure that had crushed his frame as he learned that his king still lingered deep in his sleep and unaware of the casualties that he should have been able to prevent, but she insisted that he was a hero for defending her cousin from both Ardyn and Ravus while he lingered in his unconscious state until the others could join him. He remembered that he felt like a failure instead of the hero she so gently claimed, but he was the king's advisor regardless and there was too much at stake for him to lay around in the bed, filthy and ungroomed, while nursing wounds to heal. At the very least he could take a bath and asked her if she would mind guiding him in the direction of the nearest facilities. Of course she had no objections, taking his hand and leading him with careful steps to the nearest bathroom only to watch as he tried and failed to even find the sink on his own. That's when she made the most unexpected offer he had ever heard in his life, she offered her assistance to bathe him. 

He had tried to object, not so much for his own extensive embarrassment at being seen naked by a woman he had known for years, but also that it was not proper for her to see him _that way_. He remembered the way that her fingers had stroked along his hands, soothing his sizzling nerves with gentle words. She only wanted to help him, but if he felt more comfortable with Gladio or Prompto, she understood completely. However, her next unexpected declaration of how four men were her best friends and as such she wasn't unfamiliar with the sight of a man's personal areas was more than enough to simultaneously send a blush racing to flame his cheeks and a bark of laughter to fall from his lips that was soon joined with her own.

He had never noticed before how lovely the sound of her laugh was, like the gentle twittering of the nighttime birds calling to one another. It broke apart a bit of the walls surrounding his heart and perhaps he shouldn't have, but he was aching and tired, and he gave in to the selfish request and allowed Vassa to help him with his wounds. 

He remembered the way she had made sure that the water was the perfect temperature between hot and cold to avoid overstimulating his traumatized senses, and the gentle support she had provided to guide him into the slick porcelain tub. But most of all, he remembered the way she touched him. Her smooth fingers so gentle against his fire ravaged skin as she tried to clean away most of the dried blood on his face without causing him pain. How she had rinsed his back ever so carefully to avoid any added pain to the extensive burns down his shoulders, chest, and back, and massaged the stiff muscles with fingers so nimble that it felt like a faerie was walking down his spine. In his mind's eye, he could see the way her teeth tugged against the edge of her lower lip, a bad habit she retained and he had to stifle the urge to reach up and pull the abused flesh away with his thumb. 

He cursed himself for not telling her then that he had fell for her and extending the lies he told himself for one more day.

In the days that followed and he became used to his new normal, he found himself relying on her silent comfort more than what he considered proper as it was quite difficult for him to perform even the most basic duties for himself, but he was learning. Slowly, but he was improving day by day even though his eyesight remained dark. One particular state that he would not stand was the scruffiness that grew along his jaw with each passing day. No matter the circumstances, it was absolutely unthinkable for the king's right hand to go about with a scruffy vagabond like appearance. Bloody blindness be damned, he had always kept himself neat in appearance from his shoes to his hair and he would continue to do so even if it was the last task he performed before dying.

His desire did not go unnoticed by his friends who immediately offered their assistance. He remembered in great detail his initial hesitation as his considered each of his four options. Even with his overwhelming desire to help his friend, he didn't quite trust Prompto's shaking hands not to falter during the task. And his highness's skill was one that was seriously doubted as well as Gladio's mainly due to the shield's own scruffiness that he didn't know if it was by choice or lack of skill with a razor. That left his choice to Vassa who he knew was as skilled with a blade as he, and not just for his own preferences for her company as well.

As gentle with a blade as if it was made of the softest silk instead of steel, he was entranced by the feeling of her delicate fingers along his throat as she guided him to her desired direction with small taps to the skin. Yes, he had needed to sit in a chair while she worked to reduce the height difference between them, but he would not have traded a single moment of feeling the way her Ebony-tinged breath bathed his face in warmth or the way that the sweet floral scent perfume floated about like an aura of pure innocence that fit her beautiful self so well.

He cursed himself for denying his feelings for her once more. The lies slowly grew weaker in power with each passing day as his affection for her grew tenfold. 

On the train to Tenebrae with the darkness of the night slowly growing longer, he remembered the terror of his dreams growing stronger with each passing night. Mind-numbing pain, scorching flames, and unknown terrors lurking in the dark lingered on even after he jolted himself awake to find his clothes dripping in sweat and lungs burning like he had ran for miles on one of the shield's extensive training sessions. Once again, it was Vassa who knocked so softly on the door to his quarters and asked if she could come in. How she knew of his distressed state, he never knew. Perhaps his fear-filled cries had reached her ears, or maybe she was just passing by and heard him shout, but each time she tried her best to comfort him from his fears. Whether by simply holding his hand if he wished to talk about the dreams, or if not, she frequently read from a book from her own belongings or a tawdry romance novel occasionally filched from Gladio's. Those moments never failed to bring a shaky smile and a bubble of laughter from his throat to hear her gentle voice read in the most ridiculous tone imaginable the parts that were originally intended to excite the reader with their blatant sexuality. 

By far, his favorites were the stories that she wove herself. A product of her own imagination that wove threads of magic, triumph, and zeal into the most glorious fantasy tales ever told. He found it all to easy to fall under her spell, his mind's eye easily conjuring the worlds she so beautifully described in vivid detail that it almost felt like he had visited there himself. These jewels were often reserved for the nights he needed to walk off his sleep terrors, when his mind itself needed the most distraction she could provide while they wandered the corridors of the train hand in hand for his guidance without his walking cane. 

It was on one night such as this that a question that had first arose from the ever tightening ropes of tension within their group voiced itself into meaning. He couldn't make himself focus on the glittering detail of her make-believe world crafted just for him and he truly hadn't intended to voice the question raging so harshly in his mind, but it still emerged from his lips just the same. "Vassa, I would like to ask your opinion and please do speak the honest truth." His breath hissed from his chest in a single rush as he choked out the next few words that would surely spell his fate. "Am I a burden?"

He remembered how she fell silent save for the soft hitch in her steady breathing, the clicking of the train tracks beneath them an almost maddening sound as his heart beat faster within his chest and his ears strained nearly to the point of bleeding catch any words that her soft voice might speak. The rustle of the cloth covered seat scratched against his hearing and the seat next to him dipped slightly as she moved from simply sitting across from him to a position at his side. Her fingers tentatively wove through the tightly clenched ones on his lap and he remembered the shameful way he had clutched to her hands like they were his lifeline. He felt the warmth of her upper body near his as she slid onto the seating beside him, removing her fingers from his grasp only to wrap her delicate arms around his shoulders and gently urge him to lay his weight on her. 

"Ignis Scienta, you are never a burden. Don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise or even dare to think that yourself! You are the most thoughtful, kind, courageous, brave, _perfect_ man I've ever seen. None of us would even be here if it wasn't for you. If anything, it's more than our turn to give back a little to you for everything you've done for us until you get back on your feet. And it won't be for very long, I'm sure. You'll make a way to work with your blindness and be the absolute best and keep Noctis's ass awake so he can take back the throne just as you've always done. I know it!" 

He remembered how soothing her words had been to his battered heart and soul. Surely her belief was false because how else could a blind man support his king but the shining rays of hope so powerfully evident in her words had pierced through the gloom ridden haze choking his thoughts that he couldn't help believing in some small part of her prediction himself. He could feel the broken pieces of the immense weight sliding from his shoulders like water. He clutched her smaller frame to his chest, his heart pounding so loud that he was sure she must be able to hear it, and buried his face in the curve of her neck.

He remembered how he, Ignis Scienta, the unflappable adviser to the future king, had openly sobbed in her arms like a terrified child while she murmured soft words of comfort in his ear. He cursed himself for not listening closer to her speech to hear the lowest mumbled words of all.

_I love you, Ignis_

As their journey continued, the inner turmoil and conflict within their group grew as their prince grieved for the loss of his fiancee and long time friend. The boiling point reached a head while slogging through the water reservoir around the Fodina Caestino Mine. When his emotions couldn't take the pointless bickering any longer and despite his best intentions, his simmering anger had boiled over as he declared that if he couldn't keep up, he would gracefully bow out. Despite this, he encouraged Noctis to move forward as a true king would, keeping the consequences in mind but yet never looking back. He had honestly expected more of a rebellion from Gladio for his reprimand, but the sound of slapping water faded as the King's Shield ventured onward followed by Noctis and Prompto's slowly following steps. It was when he started forth himself that he felt delicate fingers neatly slip into the grasp of his free hand and intertwined with his own gloved ones, squeezing softly for a silent show of support as she walked forward with him at a pace matched with his. 

When his king Noctis entered the crystal and for the ten years of darkness that followed, the comrades scattered about Lucis in scouting of the royal tombs and providing help to the daemon afflicted people as needed. Fate did indeed remain in his favor in the fact that Vassa had opted to stay with him in Lestallum, taking residence in an apartment just across the hall from his own and within easy reach if either of them needed something from the other. Of course their duties led to conflicting schedules that led to less encounters with Vassa than he would have preferred, but during the times they were together talking, laughing, and on his part usually involved cooking a special favorite meal of hers, he could almost make trick himself into thinking that circumstances were not as dire as they were.

During the third year of Long night, He remembered overseeing the arrangements for a little surprise party consisting of himself, Gladio, and Prompto for her 23rd birthday to take place at a pub they all frequented quite regularly when gathered together. It was needless to say that Vassa was overjoyed at her friends's arrival and on her special day no less. They talked, laughed, and drank their fill till he noticed something seemed off about Vassa's behavior. She excused herself from the table, citing a need to use the ladies's room and leaving him alone with their companions as he listened to her footsteps fade into the distance. However, he couldn't focus his mind on the conversation at hand, instead marking the length of her passage by the ticks of the clock on the wall. 

"Hey, guys? V's been gone a long time. Even for a girl." He heard the rustle of leather against skin that he assumed was probably Prompto checking his phone for the time. "Yeah, Uh. I'm gonna go see if she needs anything. Be right back." The anxiousness couldn't be hid in the bubbly blonde's tone as he slipped away, leaving just himself and Gladio alone at the table. A restless itch to check on her himself surged through his body, only relieved by the slight flexing of his left foot in his shoe. She was fine, nothing to worry about unless Prompto took it upon himself to peak into the ladies's room for Vassa again. That had been one of their more unfortunate memories from the voyage of their younger years. A series of bad food poisoning at a restaurant along their travels had resulted in a passed out Vassa alone in the ladies's room, a nervous Prompto and Noctis peeking into the ladies's room to see her prone body lying on the floor, and all four men gathering together in support of their friend and quite literally scaring the other female users of the facilities out of their minds. A bitter sense of melancholy settled over his body like a fog, and he reached for his glass of scotch to wash away the bitter taste on his tongue.

"So... when are you and Vassa finally going to get married? Noctis is going to come back and find you guys still dancing around each other with those big adorable eyes filled with love but too scared to do anything about it. It's time to man up already." 

He remembered that he had very nearly choked to death on the liquor at Gladio's statement. 

"Gladiolus," He carefully lowered the glass to rest on the table once more with a soft click. "What feelings I have for Vassa, affectionate or otherwise, have no bearing on her current state. She is the cousin of the King himself and destined for someone far greater than I."

He heard the rough snort of Gladio's scorn and could feel the shield's intense stare that had frightened more than a few focused on his face. "Really, Ignis? I knew you could be oblivious, but this beats the shit out of anything I've ever seen. V's been in love with you since we all were kids. Why the hell do you think she's stuck by you so long? She loves you, always has, and she needs you." The King's shield cut off his powerful declaration with a gulp of his beer. Gladio's prompting had sent his own heart into overdrive, the realty of the impossible becoming possible even in this Astral cursed world. He tried to reply, but his tongue twisted on itself with words that refused to form. No. Vassa was a grown woman, she needed no one. Certainly not a blind man like himself. It was their duty to Noctis and the crown, the bonds of friendship keeping themselves together through these trying years. She surely couldn't have waited for him for so many years, any affection she might have retained for him would surely have cooled by now. She deserved far better than him.

His attention was snapped away as the sound of crunching bones met with a cry of pain. The patron's around them started screaming about a fight, the mindless din an assault on his ears that required his most focused intent to navigate around as he and Gladio rose to their feet and followed the ruckus outside. The iron tinged scent of blood immediately assaulted his senses, and the repetitive strikes of bare fists against flesh was familiar as he heard the distinctive tap-tap of a single pair of heeled black boots strike the pavement with every movement. He knew those shoes well, had listened to their sound with every one of Vassa's movements except for the rare occasion when she was barefoot or merely in her socks. Not to mention the fact that Prompto was cheering her on with every successful blow she landed against her opponent.

He regretted not charging forth and demanding to know what the altercation was about. He deeply regretted not forcing the man to leave her alone as the darkness driven insane man had been stalking her in some demented illusion that she had access to the Lucian's family's royal power when in truth she had none and would mostly likely never had none. 

Instead he allowed Gladio and Prompto to congratulate her for her victorious fight with what she claimed the man to be a drunkard who had tried to flirt with her and taken it too far. He didn't need his sight to hear the clipped edge of the lie as it fell from her tongue. The opportunity to prove that lie false only laid a few nights away.

The memory of the night he told her he loved her was one that would remain forever engraved in his thoughts as long as he lived. He remembered coming home from a daemon hunt, bruised but victorious, and pausing outside his apartment door while reaching for his keys when he heard one of the most painful sounds of his life. Her quiet sobs of pain muffled from the depths of her own apartment. In a panic, he had fumbled for the keys to her own apartment that he carried in addition to his own, a favor that she returned by carrying his as well. His steady hands shook as searching fingertips located the lock and he struggled to fit the key inside, the click of the lock both a relief to his anxiety and a second inflammation to his already rapidly increasing fear as he stepped inside.

Without conscious thought, his legs carried him through the apartment he knew almost as well as his own, finding her where she lingered in her bathroom with only the sound of her breath hissing through her clenched teeth each time she swiped the antiseptic over the weeping cuts on her back. The scent of her freshly spilled blood choked him just as much as the sounds of her sobs curled around his chest like an invisible vise. He didn't say a word as he stepped forward and relieved her of her medicine, using sensitive fingers and his remaining senses to ensure that she was properly cleaned and bandaged before asking her what had happened to reduce her to this state.

He cursed himself for letting his anger at whoever had harmed her to chill his voice into barbs of the coldest ice. For letting himself be so lax that he didn't register that one of his friends was in danger.

His heart was quickly ripped in two as she softly confessed that she didn't want to burden him with the knowledge, that she thought she could take care of herself rather than relying on her friend's strength to drive off the stalker. He remembered asking her why. Didn't she trust him? Hadn't everything that they had been through showed many times over that he would have happily helped the woman he loved with her troubles if only she had told him of what perilous situation she had encountered.

He cursed himself for revealing his love for her so badly that her tears overflowed into the loudest sobs yet as her legs collapsed beneath her and she fell to the floor.

He remembered how he sank to his knees and pleaded with her to stop, to explain to him what pain his words had unintentionally caused and he remembered the way she stuttered, her voice choking on itself as she muttered out that she wasn't good enough for him. That she was beneath his station as the bastard daughter of a cousin of the royal Lucis family. That his departed highness King Regis was more than kind by allowing her to live and work at the palace when she rightfully had no place serving there. That she didn't want to ruin the friendship that she shared with him by confessing her love and that she was happy to live with just the knowledge that he was her friend because surely he did not care for her in that way. That she would die from the loss of losing him along with her cousin who was more like a brother while he slumbered in the crystal. He didn't need his sight to see the pain filled tears rolling down Vassa's bruised cheeks, he could feel them land against his fingers as he slowly used his remaining senses to find his target as only he could. Her lips meeting with his in a kiss that he tried to convey every emotion that he had ever felt in her presence. That it was him who was not worthy of her presence, could never be worthy except for his own selfish desire to make her his.

With lungs burning for air and separated only for a moment to gather their breath, he faintly heard her final declaration of confused disbelief before every word both said and unsaid registered in her thoughts that he did indeed love her after so many years of her silent affection. He remembered the desperation in her grip as she wound her fingers into the collar of his daemon blood stained shirt and hauled him closer. Her kiss was like fire, hotter than even the Lucian flame the had scorched through his veins, her lips slotted perfectly against his as shaking hands explored their long awaited mate. 

Her touch was always so gentle, so reverent, like he was the treasure instead of herself being the jewel of his life. She had asked if she could touch his scars, if it would not be painful for him at her touch, and he found himself agreeing with her gentle request to touch where no one save himself had touched for so many years. Fluttering fingers had traced across his scars, so light that what sensation was left received only a pleasurable tickle, was followed by the touch of plush lips so soft that a tear trickled from his ruined eyes at the level of care she bestowed on him. His body ached for her warmth and when she said that she had never wanted another besides him, he too had found the same to be true. He thirsted for her, would gladly die for her and needed her with his every breath.

Gradually, Hands that were clumsy and fumbling with electrified nerves grew steady the more they explored this newfound balance between them. The exploration of each other that culminated into a fire so slowly simmering but hotter than the flames of the Astrals themselves. He was truly amazed at the velvety warmth of her that fit so perfectly around him that it nearly overwhelmed him. The unique lock to his key alone, he relished the times they spent together tangled in each other's limbs till he could no longer tell where he ended and she began. 

He cursed himself for waiting so long for his perfect mate. _His_ Vassa just as he was _her_ Ignis.

Their wedding was a small affair, but one that made him no prouder than to call her his wife. Vassa Scienta was his at last. When the ten years had passed and the king awoke, he fondly remembered how Noctis had slung an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. "About damn time, Specs!" the returned king of Insomnia had laughed into his ear and he couldn't resist a joyful smile of his own. 

When they departed for the fallen city of Insomnia to raise the dawn's light. He remembered how desperate they had been they had been that night, to afraid to properly say goodbye but allowed gestures to say what lips could not in case this was to be their final coupling. That night was rushed and frantic, each one grasping to hold onto one another in case tomorrow was their last. And with the dawn's light came a new reality as the circumstances found themselves reversed and it was now him who was caring for his injured love just as she had in times so long past.

He all too clearly remembered the overwhelming panic that had flared in his veins as a young soldiers had recounted her current condition, tearing him away from his duties at the body of his sacrificed king and tearing his heart in two as well. The brisk order from Gladio releasing him from his duties to see to his beloved had shook him into usefulness and he had departed with a swift but curt bow to his fallen king and a whispered apology. He had no memory of how he walked through the debris to the small field hospital that had been set up, his only conclusion being that the Astrals had seen fit to grant him a safe journey as the overwhelming need to be at her side had consumed every rational thought. He had arrived at the field hospital within moments, demanding to see his wife and a harried nurse took a spare moment to lead him in the direction of his fallen bride.

He remembered how his every step had been filled with dread at what he might find. How his ever working mind had conjured up the most horrifying of images as to what had become of Vassa's fate. However his heart wouldn't allow him to falter. She could come to him broken, deaf, blind, and missing all her limbs and he would still take her in whatever form she appeared as long as the Astrals would grant him his one wish of keeping her by his side. When the nurse finally stopped at a single darkened room, he lowered his protective visor and allowed his frosted eye to sense what light it could as he tentatively ventured forward till the moment his hand brushed against the bed railing and beyond. The steady beeping of the heart monitor his only clue that the shadow wrapped body laying in the bed was indeed alive

He cursed himself for the gasp that fell from his lips as his searching fingers trailed along the surface of the bandages that wrapped her damaged flesh. His fingers climbed higher along the curve of her arm to find the smooth slant of her jawline, her skin heated and puffed to his touch as he could only imagine what hues the no doubt vibrant hues painted on her skin. Beside her bed, he sank to his knees and prayed to the Astrals to grant his selfish desire and not to take his Vassa as they had taken his king to a well earned rest. He couldn't grieve for the departed king who was like a brother to him and the woman he loved above all else lest he finally break and shatter like broken glass himself. Silver tears dripped from ruined eyes like water as he slowly broke off his prayer at the sound of approaching footsteps creeping down the hallway. 

The doctor, still wearing the scent of antiseptic and fresh blood from a recent procedure, fully explained the depths of Vassa's perilous condition with a brisk business-like tone that he appreciated at once. There was no coddling as he listening with silent horror at the list of wounds plaguing her body. Severely burned hands and forearms up to her elbows, multiple contusions throughout her body, a concussion, two cracked ribs and a recently reinflated collapsed lung all on her left side. It was a miracle that she was alive and breathing, but the worst yet had not come to pass. The next twelve hours would tell if the fever that raged through her body from all the trauma would break and if she would survive it all. It had all seemed like too many odds stacked against the normal person, but he knew her and knew her stubbornness well. Vassa would never let a mere illness and injuries best her like this. Then the doctor spoke once more, words that had felled him more than any pain that could ever be inflicted on his body. 

He had nearly lost _two_ of the most important people in his life besides his king and his friends, not one.

He cursed himself for allowing her to fight for Insomnia as she had, cursing the soldier so foolish with his actions that had allowed his wife and the mother of his budding child to be injured.

He remembered the snap of instant terror that had rolled through his veins when her hand had started vibrating on it's own, the damaged muscles and nerves flinching and twitching beneath his touch like worms were writhing under her skin, and the softest of pain filled moans clawed out of her throat and tore at his heart worse than the claws of any damon. The doctor replied that Vassa had taken to bouts of whimpering and shivering at times when the terror of her mind became too much for her unconscious form. The doctor departed with one final piece of advice to try and keep her as calm as he could and that is what he did.

He remembered shrugging off his heavy Kingsglaive jacket and climbed into her bed, curling his larger frame around her delicate shivering one and burying his face in her hair while his finger soothingly stroked across her upper arms. Even totally unconscious, Vassa still reacted to his presence with the pain-filled whimper slowly fading away and her writhing movements coming to a shuddering halt. He remembered with a stab of horror that she had felt so _small_ laying in that bed. The frame that had nestled so completely against his own was shrunken, almost doll-like in feeling. The smell of burned flesh, blood both fresh and dried, and charred ash curled in his nostrils and lingered there like the most grotesque of perfumes. His mind screamed at him that this was not his wife, not his beautiful ray of sunshine that laid in this bed shriveled and shrunken like some pale husk. The scent of her unique Jasmine and Sylleblossom perfume was gone, completely replaced by this smell of death. Her flesh was too warm, heated by the fever burning in her veins to where it felt foreign to his touch. No, his mind continued to insist that this was not Vassa.

"Till death do us part was not a challenge, my love. Please do not take it as such." He had whispered into the curve of her ear. "A life without you would be akin to death itself."

For six weeks, Vassa slumbered in the confines of her self-made cocoon. Her broken and battered body healing while the kingdom of Insomnia itself was born anew under the blazing bright sunlight they had worked so hard to return. He remembered the crushing feeling of hopelessness that plagued his thoughts as every day he helped rebuild the kingdom and every night returned to her bedside, if only to reunite with her presence in sleep while his mind whispered that she would never wake up, that she would never see the child steadily growing inside her and he would be alone forever more. But fate answered his plea as she woke on the first morning of the seventh week, a tentative smile on her lips as she tried to kiss him good morning while he slept beside her. There was no words to describe his joy as tears leaked down from his ruined eyes once more but born from happiness now instead of pain.

Her recovery was still ongoing, but she returned to a normal state of life with a dogged stubbornness that reminded him more than once of her royal cousin now departed. He remembered the feel of her body blooming with the life inside, the subtle wiggle as the little one became aware of the outside world. He spent so many nights awake simply listening to her breath, feeling the weight of her body against his, and his arm wrapped around her midsection where their child laid in piece. His body was always thrilled when she laughed and giggled as his hands would traced across her abdomen, fingers lightly tapping across the surface to receive an answering reply from the occupant inside. It was a game frequently played and much enjoyed by both parties as the time was both too long and too short before the arrival of one Thorin Noctis Scienta appeared one beautiful sun filled day. A beautiful boy that shared his emerald eyes, his mother's smile, a head filled with locks a shade between his own tawny blond and Vassa's dark raven, and a peculiar aversion to anything that might resemble a vegetable even at such a young age. 

He chuckled softly to himself, not for the first time wondering if Noctis had a hand in that from somewhere in the beyond. 

Letting his thoughts drift back to the present, he raised the mug of now-tepid Ebony to his lips and sipped lightly. The dawning of the day's light bathing the left side of his face in warm light while he mused over one final thought. Was there a single moment that he could pinpoint in his memory where he could specifically say that was when he fell in love with Vassa? Or was it a gradually collection of emotions that had needed time and careful cultivation to bloom into the grand blossom that it was today? 

"Good morning, darling." He jolted slightly when a light hand descended on his left shoulder, but he leaned into the familiar touch so that soft lips could affectionately brush against his scarred cheek. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?" Her soft voiced words were interrupted by the burbles of his son held carefully in his mother's arms, chubby little fingers brushing against his chest as he eagerly reached for his beloved papa.

"Just thinking, my love. No reason to be troubled at all." He smiled and wordlessly reached out for his son, gloved hands folding protectively around the warm wriggling weight as Vassa placed Thorin within his arms and the boy settled happily in his father's lap. Chubby fingers sticky with drool latched onto the silk fabric of his shirt and he couldn't help but smile even wider as he pressed a kiss to his son's downy head. "And how are you this morning, fine sir? Those teeth growing in are giving you quite the bit of trouble, are they not?"

He heard the start of Vassa's reply when his phone began to blare "Prompto! Prompto!" very loudly as the one and only blond man called at what would normally be an unreachable hour for him unless it was an dire emergency. Carefully balancing his son on his leg with ease, he reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled forth the ringing phone, pushing the flashing answer button with his thumb.

"Scienta."

"Morning, Iggy. How's everything going? V hasn't figured it out about the party down here yet, has she?" He stifled the urge to groan in despair as Vassa's chime-like chuckle overpowered Prompto's continued bubbling about how everything was decorated to pure perfection.

"She just did." The woman he was proud to call his wife said with the smile in her voice so very evident, immediately receiving a bundle of rushed apologies from the chirpy blonde that had so far been his assistant in the planning stages of the little anniversary party to be held at the restaurant they both operated together as partners. 

The floor beneath him creaked as she approached him from behind, her delicate arms sliding around his neck and her sharp little chin propping on the right side junction of his neck and shoulder, the flame scarred tips of her fingers slightly rough as she smoothed down his chest in a teasing caress before settling to lightly pat their son's back. "You didn't have to do all this, Iggy. All I wanted was for you to relax and enjoy the day. Plus, my present for you isn't quite ready yet."

The embers of warm affection burned high in his chest, stoking the flame of love that burned for his beloved ever eternal as he tilted his head to the side and whispered directly in her ear, taking special note of how she shivered as the warmth of his breath encountered the delicate sensitive skin. "I have no need of a present, my love, when I have more than I ever dreamed would be possible."

"That's what you always say, Iggy." Here he heard her voice deepen just the slightest into a playful, slightly husky rasp. "But I think you're going to like it. I'll let you have one little hint. It's lace."

He groaned deep in his chest once more as a proceeding of scorching images flared through his thoughts with the heat of the fire they ignited. "You little minx."

"Only for you, Ignis. Happy anniversary." 

"Happy Anniversary, my love."

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a prompt from a writing group on my DA account as Regrets. Let me know if you would like to read more about Ignis and Vassa's adventures and might consider writing a few more.
> 
> As always,  
> Ignis and all characters do not belong to me.  
> The idea does belong to me, as does Vassa.  
> You belong in Ignis Hell.


End file.
